To better plan parent education programs for families from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, the Parent As a Teacher Inventory (PAAT) was used to identify similarities and differences among 114 Anglo-, Black- and Mexican-American mothers from upper, middle, and lower class intact homes in greater Phoenix, Arizona. Each of the subjects had a child enrolled at second-grade level in one of seven elementary school districts in the metropolitan area. Subjects' PAAT scores were analyzed by an analysis of variance. Where significance was found at .05 or less, the Scheffe-Test was performed to identify the source of significance. For subsets with significant variance, a Chi-square was employed to identify particular items responsible for variance among subjects. Findings identified significant differences among mothers as a function of ethnic background and/or socioeconomic level. Significant differences were found between Anglo and Black mothers on four of the five PAAT subsets and on the total PAAT; Anglo responses were found to be more consistent with the values promoted in child development research than were the responses of Blacks. Among socioeconomic groups, significant differences were found on all five PAAT subsets and on the total PAAT. (In tables throughout the text, global differences among parental groups are particularized in terms of specific behaviors program developers can use to help families of diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.) (RH)